Wen Ning/History
Discussion Conference at Nightless City Wen Ning first met Wei Wuxian during the Discussion Conference at Qishan, a few years prior to the Sunshot Campaign. Wei Wuxian cheered upon seeing his fine archery skills, to Wen Ning's great embarrassment. Novel, Chapter 59 When Wen Ning volunteered to participate as a representative of the Qishan Wen Sect during the archery competition, he was scorned by Wen Chao. Wei Wuxian spoke up for him, but Wen Ning failed to demonstrate his skills due to nerves. When Wen Ning apologized for his failure, Wei Wuxian encouraged him to continue practicing, claiming that Wen Ning was among the top four archers he had ever seen.Novel, Chapter 59 Massacre of Lotus Pier After hearing that the Qishan Wen Sect had destroyed Lotus Pier, Wen Ning hurried to Yunmeng to see if he could help Wei Wuxian in any way. He assisted Wei Wuxian in his rescue of Jiang Cheng from the sadistic hands of Wen Chao, and brought the two fugitives to Yiling to see his sister. Novel, Chapter 59 While Wen Qing scolded Wen Ning for the risks he took, she nevertheless agreed to treat Jiang Cheng's injuries and shelter the two fugitives for a few days.Novel, Chapter 60 Wei Wuxian begged Wen Qing to consider transferring his Golden Core into Jiang Cheng, who had lost his to Wen Zhuliu's Core-Melting Hand. Wen Ning assisted his sister during the two-day surgery, and promised to tell no one that Wei Wuxian lacked a golden core. Novel, Chapter 89 Death and Return During the night-hunt of an eight-winged bat king, Wen Ning and several of his family members encountered Jin Zixun. Jin Zixun attempted to force them into act as bait, and despite Wen Ning's attempts to reason with him, many the members of the Qishan Wen Sect were taken to work for the Lanling Jin Sect at Qiongqi Path. Novel, Chapter 72 Wen Ning was allegedly killed when he fell from a cliff, though Wei Wuxian noted that the bruises on his body indicated he was more likely beaten to death. Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing then rescued the surviving Wen remnants and escaped for the Yiling Burial Mounds, along with Wen Ning's Fierce Corpse.Novel, Chapter 72 Wen Ning's Fierce Corpse was kept surrounded by talismans in the Demon-Slaughering Cave. To soothe the disconsolate Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian promised her that he would return Wen Ning's consciousness, though he did not know how at the time. Novel, Chapter 73 Wen Ning eventually broke out of the seal of talismans, prompting Wei Wuxian and the visiting with Lan Wangji to play spiritual melodies to suppress his resentful energy. As they played, Wen Ning's consciousness slowly awakened, as he recognized Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing. This delighted the rest of his family, and they celebrated his return. Novel, Chapter 75 Death of Jin Zixuan While Wei WuXian and Wen Ning were on their way to Jin Ling's full-month celebration, they were ambushed by Jin Zixun and about a hundred subordinates at Qiongqi Path. Jin Zixun mistakenly believed that Wei Wuxian had placed the Curse of One-Hundred Holes on him, and threatened that if Wei Wuxian did not remove the curse, he would kill him to save himself. Novel, Chapter 76 Seeing that Jin Zixun did not believe his denials, Wei Wuxian attempted to use Demonic Cultivation to fight, but Jin Zixun informed him that he had removed all corpses from the area. With few other options, Wei Wuxian then used Wen Ning to fight the cultivators while he dodged Jin Zixun's attacks. Novel, Chapter 76 Jin Zixuan arrived to intervene, demanding that Wei Wuxian call off Wen Ning's assault. Wei Wuxian refused, afraid that Jin Zixun's men would immediately kill him. After Jin Zixun broke his gift to Jin Ling, Wei Wuxian's rage consumed him and he accused Jin Zixuan of being part of the plot to kill him. Novel, Chapter 76 As a result, the unconscious Wen Ning killed Jin Zixuan by punching a hole through his chest, before strangling Jin Zixun. Novel, Chapter 76 Wen Ning carried the shocked and unconscious Wei Wuxian back to the Burial Mounds, and when Wei Wuxian awoke, apologized repeatedly. Ultimately, Wen Ning and Wen Qing decided to turn themselves over to the Lanling Jin Sect for punishment to spare Wei Wuxian and the rest of their family. Wen Qing used a needle to incapacitate Wei Wuxian before she and her brother departed. Novel, Chapter 76 Imprisonment at Carp Tower Once Wen Ning and Wen Qing arrived at Carp Tower to surrender, Lan Wangji attempted to speak in their defense, Novel, Chapter 89 but this was rendered null when Wen Ning once again lost control of his emotions, killing members of the Qinghe Nie Sect Novel, Chapter 78 and the Gusu Lan Sect Novel, Chapter 43 in his rampage. Novel, Chapter 77 An interview with author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu revealed that this incident was not an accident, possibly implying that Xue Yang had used his demonic cultivation to manipulate Wen Ning. Author Interview Wen Ning was supposedly executed alongside his sister, and their ashes scattered at Nightless City.Novel, Chapter 78 In reality, only Wen Qing died, while Wen Ning was imprisoned for the Lanling Jin Sect's demonic cultivators to study. Novel, Chapter 43 Dafan Mountain Thirteen years later, Wei Wuxian was resurrected in the body of Mo Xuanyu. While battling the Demonic Left Arm in Mo Village, Wei Wuxian ordered three corpses to "wake up," and though Wen Ning was far from Mo Village, he too heard and responded to the command, dragging his chains with him. Novel, Chapter 43 Novel, Chapter 10 Wen Ning made his way to Dafan Mountain, appearing when Wei Wuxian once more used demonic cultivation to battle the possessed Goddess Statue. Wen Ning successfully fought the Goddess Statue, saving Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and multiple other juniors. Novel, Chapter 10 Once Wei Wuxian realized that Wen Ning would be killed by the frightened cultivators, he played Wangxian on his bamboo flute to soothe Wen Ning before sending him away. Novel, Chapter 10 Return to Consciousness Wei Wuxian twice succeeded in convincing Lan Wangji to drink so that he could remove Wen Ning's chains and restore his consciousness. The first time, Wei Wuxian discovered that two long needles had been driven into Wen Ning's skull to control him, and special chains had been created just for him. To Wei Wuxian's surprise, Wen Ning did seem to feel the pain, despite his status as a fierce corpse. Novel, Chapter 30 They were interrupted by the arrival of the drunk Lan Wangji, who jealously smacked Wen Ning before pushing him about thirty feet away from Wei Wuxian. When Wen Ning attempted to follow the pair to their room, Lan Wangji smacked him again, causing Wen Ning to walk off dejectedly. Novel, Chapter 31 In Yi City, Wei Wuxian summoned Wen Ning to subdue the sentient fierce corpse of Song Lan, confident that Wen Ning was the stronger of the two. Novel, Chapter 37 In the aftermath of their defeat of Xue Yang, Wei Wuxian succeeded in convincing Lan Wangji to drink a second time. This time, Wei Wuxian managed to speak with Wen Ning, who told him that he had been hidden in a very dark place, with people occasionally coming to check on him. Wei Wuxian surmised that Xue Yang had driven the nails into Wen Ning's head, as he had done the same to Song Lan. Novel, Chapter 43 They were interrupted yet again by Lan Wangji, who kicked Wen Ning into the ground. To keep peace, Wei Wuxian told Wen Ning to find rest somewhere while he took Lan Wangji back to his room. Novel, Chapter 43 Second Siege of the Burial Mounds After rumors spread that corpses were amassing on the Burial Mounds again, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji set out for Yiling. Along the way, they hid in a couple's barn. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were suddenly given a chance to escape when the roar of a fierce corpse frightened the couple, and Wei Wuxian was surprised to discover that the corpse was Wen Ning. Lan Wangji explained that Wen Ning had been trailing them since they left Carp Tower, and that Wen Ning had fought to help Lan Wangji escape with the injured Wei Wuxian. Novel, Chapter 67 Wen Ning expressed sorrow at the sight of the ravaged Burial Mounds, where the rest of his family had presumably died. At Wei Wuxian's request, he used a sword to free that captured juniors who had been used as bait for the fierce corpses, only to be struck with Zidian when the rest of the cultivators arrived for the Second Seige. Novel, Chapter 68 After most of the cultivators' spiritual powers were sealed by Su She, Wen Ning guarded the door to the Demon Slaughtering Cave to save the cultivators who had previously wanted him dead. Novel, Chapter 79 He fought alongside the junior disciples and eventually the adults, even though they lacked spiritual power, as wave after wave of corpses attacked under the control of the Stygian Tiger Seal. Novel, Chapter 81 Eventually, when everyone was spent, Wei Wuxian decided to place a Spirit-Attraction Flag on himself to allow the others a chance to escape. Novel, Chapter 81 Lan Sizhui insisted on staying behind with Wei Wuxian, Wen Ning, and Lan Wangji, when suddenly, the fifty or so fierce corpses of the Wen remnants arose from the Blood Pool in the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Novel, Chapter 82 The blood corpses destroyed the final wave of attacking corpses. Wen Ning recognized each and every one of his family members, showing profound emotion despite his inability to cry. At the end of the battle, he collected their crimson ashes. Novel, Chapter 82 Return to Lotus Pier The survivors of the Second Seige decided to retreat to Lotus Pier while waiting for their spiritual powers to recover. Wen Ning clung to the boat of the juniors, before Lan Sizhui invited him on, to Jin Ling's ire. Novel, Chapter 83 Wen Ning recognized Lan Sizhui's similarity to his cousin, and upon learning that his given name was Lan Yuan, began to realize that Lan Sizhui was his cousin's son Wen Yuan. Novel, Chapter 83 Aware of Jiang Cheng's animosity towards him, Wen Ning initially declined to enter Lotus Pier. Novel, Chapter 83 This changed when he saw Jiang Cheng strike Wei Wuxian, upon which Wen Ning demanded Jiang Cheng remove Suibian from its hilt.Novel, Chapter 88 Jiang Cheng was flabbergasted that the sealed sword allowed him to remove it, and Wen Ning responded by explaining that the golden core inside Jiang Cheng was actually Wei Wuxian's. To Jiang Cheng's shock, the usually-shy Wen Ning explained that he had assisted Wen Qing in the core transfer many years ago, and boldly chastised Jiang Cheng for his inability to measure up to Wei Wuxian.Novel, Chapter 89 Wen Ning accompanied Lan Wangji and the unconscious Wei Wuxian out of Lotus Pier, answering Lan Wangji's inquiries about the surgery and requesting that Lan Wangji not tell Wei Wuxian that Wen Ning had broken his promise and told someone at last.Novel, Chapter 89 Guanyin Temple Incident After Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's third drunken excursion, Wen Ning attempted to deface Lan Wangji's graffiti to spare his pride. When he and Wei Wuxian noticed Jin Guangyao entering the Guanyin Temple, Wei Wuxian told Wen Ning to fetch Lan Wangji while he investigated. Novel, Chapter 97 Wen Ning then encountered the fierce corpse of Nie Mingjue as he attempted to target children, and redirected Nie Mingjue's wrath towards himself instead. Wen Ning battled the stronger Nie Mingjue all the way to the Guanyin Temple, hoping that Wei Wuxian would be able to subdue him.Novel, Chapter 106 Novel, Chapter 107 When Nie Mingjue mistook Jin Ling for Jin Guangyao and attempted to kill him, Wen Ning thew himself in front of Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng. Nie Mingjue punched through his chest in a similar fashion to the manner in which Wen Ning had killed Jin Zixuan. Stunned, Jiang Cheng even caught him before he fell to the ground. Novel, Chapter 107 In the aftermath, Jin Ling wept as he realized that he could no longer hate Wen Ning, and it was implied that Jiang Cheng felt similarly. Novel, Chapter 110 Aftermath: Finding Family Again After seeing Chenqing, Lan Sizhui regained several memories as Wen Yuan. He and Wen Ning spoke with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji before the latter two left on their honeymoon. Wen Ning explained to Wei Wuxian that he and Lan Sizhui intended to travel to Nightless City to build a memorial for their family.Novel, Chapter 111 Once Lan Sizhui returned to the Cloud Recesses, Wen Ning remained nearby to assist the juniors on night-hunts, to the dismay of Lan Qiren.Novel, Chapter 113 Novel, Chapter 114 Animation Divergence In the Animation, Wen Ning does not lose control at Carp Tower. Rather, he was kept alive to watch his sister's ashes poured out at Nightless City. Only once a mysterious light appeared did he begin to kill, prompting Wei Wuxian's massacre at Nightless City. Animation, Episode 22 Web Series Divergence In the Web Series, Wen Qing and Wen Ning were orphaned after their parents encountered the Goddess Statue on Dafan Mountain, which led to lingering issues with Wen Ning's spiritual abilities.Web Series, Episode 5 The siblings fell into the care of Wen Ruohan, who often threatened Wen Ning to force Wen Qing to obey him.Web Series, Episode 11 Wen Ruohan also ordered the two to study at the Cloud Recesses, where they meet many of the main cast early in the story. Web Series, Episode 3 In addition, Wen Ning and Wen Qing were discovered to have harbored Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, and subsequently imprisoned by Wen Chao. Web Series, Episode 19 Due to censorship, Wen Ning was only near death at Qiongqi Path, with a breath of life left in him. Web Series, Episode 26 Strictly speaking, he was thus more a conscious "puppet," rather than a fierce corpse. Web Series, Episode 28 Wen Ning arrived at the Guanyin Temple possessed by Nie Mingjue's saber spirit, rather than battling Nie Mingjue's fierce corpse. He then attempted to stop himself from harming Jin Ling, rather than placing himself in the way of Nie Mingjue's punch. Web Series, Episode 49 References